Life as an FBI mole in Berwyn

Former alderman brings bribery to light, but he lost his job and faced a mental breakdown

November 23, 2006|By Matt O'Connor, Tribune staff reporter

The Berwyn assistant mayor nodded toward Ald. Alex Bojovic and the two stepped into a City Hall bathroom near the council chambers, just as they had arranged.

The official, Sonny Stillo, handed $500 in cash, the first of two scheduled payoffs, to the alderman to vote for a controversial redevelopment.

And the whole transaction was captured on video.

Bojovic, it turned out, was more than an alderman--he was an FBI mole. He now explains that he had a tiny camera hidden in his clothes.

Earlier this month, Stillo was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to bribery in the case. Clifford Josefik, a developer also snared by Bojovic, is expected to plead guilty, possibly next month, according to court records.

Because the cases didn't go to trial, Bojovic never was called as a witness to tell his story in detail. In his first interview since the probe of public corruption came to light, Bojovic (pronounced Boy-o-vich) described for the Tribune a tension-filled double life that he had to keep confidential even from his wife.

"Maybe my career is not in government; maybe it's in acting," he quipped of his success in winning the trust of corrupt insiders.

Bojovic worked nearly two years undercover, pocketing at least $15,000 in payoffs made public so far and tape-recording more than 400 calls and meetings.

Bojovic said he secretly tape-recorded others, in addition to the two men charged, and is hopeful that federal prosecutors will bring additional charges.

For face-to-face conversations, he was usually "wired" with a recorder strapped to the small of his back, its microphone sewn into the lapel of his navy-blue sports jacket, he said.

The Tribune interview of Bojovic, 45, took place in his heated garage, which he used as his political campaign office and was the scene of many of his undercover meetings.

Bojovic asked a reporter for identification. His son, Chris, 22, still concerned about his father's safety, stood nearby.

After his undercover role came to light, Bojovic had a security system installed at his residence.

`Rebel Yell'

Code-named "Rebel Yell" by the FBI (in apparent reference to his status as an outspoken maverick alderman), Bojovic seemed an unlikely government mole on the surface. A product of Berwyn's Regular Democratic Organization, he had become a staunch opponent of then-Mayor Thomas Shaughnessy's administration. He was a politically ambitious alderman with a penchant for publicity.

Current Berwyn Mayor Michael O'Connor, a former Bojovic political ally, said he was stunned that Stillo even talked to Bojovic, let alone grew to trust him. "Alex had a reputation of being an honest person," O'Connor said.

"Obviously, [Bojovic] had to take on the persona of someone they could trust," O'Connor said.

Bojovic said Stillo and an elected official who hasn't been charged were initially wary of him. In a restaurant meeting, he said both urged him to quit going to the news media with complaints, a favorite Bojovic tactic.

Bojovic said he convinced them that he was tired of fighting with them. He also toned down his rhetoric and less frequently questioned Shaughnessy administration policies and expenditures.

Bojovic doesn't regret his decision to work undercover for the FBI, he said, but it came at a price. He said he grew increasingly nervous at being wired, fearful that the hidden recorder would be discovered.

The stress mounted as he juggled his work, political and undercover schedules. He slept fitfully and broke down crying at least half a dozen times from the stress, he said.

Bojovic said his outgoing personality ebbed. Friends and family noticed a change, but he couldn't explain what was going on because of the confidentiality of the investigation.

"I wanted so bad to talk to my wife, Diane, or my brothers," said Bojovic, who has six brothers, including Branko, who was a Berwyn alderman at the time. "The agents I worked with were great. But I felt like I had no one to talk to."

The FBI even brought in therapists once to try to help him cope with the anxiety.

Feeling overwhelmed, he abruptly quit his job as public works director for the Village of Lyons.

According to a government affidavit, federal agents approached Bojovic in summer 2001 after an undisclosed intermediary had contacted the FBI and suggested Bojovic knew of corruption and would be willing to help.

Bojovic said he agreed to cooperate in his first face-to-face meeting with the FBI.

In the interview, Bojovic struggled a bit to explain his motivations for working undercover. He said he had grown frustrated that thefts of political signs during his re-election fight earlier in 2001 hadn't been investigated by police.

Pressed further, he expressed unhappiness that his calls on the council floor for action on illegal dumping and other problems went ignored.